Roller bearing



L. W. CLOSE.

ROLLER BEARING.

APPUCAHON mm JAN. 19. I922.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

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V-T. CLOSE. OF TOLEDO, SHED. ASSIGNOR TO THE BUCK BEARING CQMIANY, 01?

TOLEDO. (EH10, A GORPOZRATION OF UHIO.

ROLLER BEARING.

Snecification of Letters Patent. yatgn't fl A g zgp 1922 Application andJenn-227 19, 1922. Serial in. 530,396.

1 0 all iii/1011i. it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYMAN W. Cnosn, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Toledo, county of Lucas. State of Ohio, have inventedcertain nev and useful lm provements in vRoller Bearings. of which.

the following is a specification.

This invention relates to anti-friction bearings, and more particularlyto a novel cage construction for retaining the rollers in assembledrelation with the outer race member of the bearing, and to a novelmethod oi permanently a-ssembling the race member with the rollers andcage.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a cage ofcomparatively simple construction which can 'be manufacturedeconomically from a single pieee of sheetmetal and. which will permit ofpermanently assembling the rollers with the. outer race member or cup soas to produce a relatively narrow bearing Which will have adequaterolling surfaces to meet the requirements as to radial and thrust loadswhich such bearings encounter in. service.

Other objects of the invention and the features of novelty will beapparent from the tolli'nving description taken in connection with theacci'nnpanying drawings, oi? which:

Figure l is a transverse section of a metal blank from which a cageembodying the invention is formed;

2 to 6, inclusive. are transverse sections of the cagein differentstages of one method of manufacture;

l 7 is a section on the line '1? of Fig. 6;

llig. is a view similar to Figs. 2 to but indicating the next operation;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing the method of assemblingthe rollers and cup. With the cage;

10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the blank used in anothermethod of manufacturing the cage;

Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, show various steps in forming the cage bysuch other method;

Fig. 16 is a section on the line l6,16 of Fig. '15;

Fig". l? is '1 {new similar to Figsl 11 to but showing the nextoperation; I

hi 18 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing the different method ofassembling the rollers and cup, with the cage;

Fig. 19 isan enlarged transverse section of one-half of a completedhearing;

Fig-20 is a transverse section n the line 2(l-20 of Fig; 19; and

Fig. 21 is a similar section on the line 21-21 of Fig. 19.

Referring: to the drawings, and more particularly, for the present, toFigs. 19 to 21, it will be noted that the outer race memher or cup isindicated at 25. and the inner ace member or cone is indicated at 26. Acircumferentially spaced series of tapered rollers :27 is arangedbetween the. cup and the cone 26, according to the customary practice inthe tapered roller bearing art,

but in the present illustration, each of the ro lers is provided with aflange 28 at the smaller end of its tapered body, the inner side 01 thisflange engaging one of the side laces of the cup 25, at the corner 29.

According to the present invention. the bearing is made up oi' two unitsone unit comprising the cup 25 with the. cage and rollers assembledtherewitln and the other unit consisting of the cone 26 which is readilyseparable from the: other parts of the hearing.

The cage consists of comprising end flanges 30 and 31, one of which isturned outivaroll and the other turned inwardly, and these flanges arecon neoted by a series of roller-spacing bridging members 32 so formedas to provide tapered pockets for the rollers. The narrower ends ofthese pockets receive the larger ends of the tapered bodies of therollers and are somewhatless iii-Width than the diameter of the rollers,as will be seen from Fig. 20, so that the larger'ends of the rollerswill not pass through these narrower ends of the pockets. The wider endsof the pockets receive the smaller ends of the rollers and the rollersare held in the pockets by means of the inwardly projecting Wing's 33.Which partially surround the rollers.

-From Fig. 19. it will he evident that the flanges 28? of the rollersand the Wings 33 co operate to retain the rollers, the cup, and the cagein permanently assembled relation.

While it is realized that it is possible to a sheet metal shell Millproduce the cage illustrated, by different methods, it is believed thatthe methods about to be described are economical and commerciallypracticable and well illustrate the principles of my invention.

According to the method illustrated in Figs. 1 to 9, I start with acircular disc 3st which, in the first operation, will be drawn into theform illustrated in Fig. by means of suitable dies in a stamping press.I have notillustrated the dies for performing this operation, or for anyof the subsequent operations, for the reason thatthe character of thesedies will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art, fromthe'naturc of the operations that are to be performed.

The next operation IS to re-strike the cup illustrated in Fig. to squareup the corners and to provide a bend in the side wall as in dicated at35. By the succeeding operation. the outwardly extending flange 30 istrimmed and an opening 36 is formed at the center oi the Bottom wall toreceive the arbor of an indexing fixture. The cup is then placed on anindexing fixture and by means of suitable punching dies the rolleropenings are punched in the side wall. as shown in Fig. 5. in thisfigure only one-half of the roller opening is indicated but it will beunderstood that the other half of the opening is similar to that shown,and that the number of openings formed will equal the number of rollersthat will be used in the hearing.

The next operation turns the wings 33 inwardly, as indicated in igs. 6and 7, and

also gives to the wings the proper shape toconform to the tapered bodyof the roller.

The succeeding operation is indicated in 7 and. ionsists in punching outthe sur plus metal of the bottom so as to form the flange 31.

The rollers are then placed in the )ockets as indicated in Fig. 9. theflanged end of the roller being displaceo inwardiyfrom its ultimateposition in order to permit the cup 25 to be passed over the flanges 2When the cup 25 is in position the rollers are swung out so that theinner face of the flange 28 will engage with the corner 29 of the cupand the body of the roller will engage with the rolling surface of thecup. The bridging members 32 arefthen pushed outwardly to cuuse thewings to more closely surround the bodies of the rollers and thus retainthe parts inv their assembled position. In thus pushing out the bridgingmembers the bend at the point 35 is eliminated and the resultingstructure will be substantially as illustrated'in Fig. 19.

In the method of forming the cage, which is illustrated in Figs. 10 to18, inclusive, a blank 34, similar to that used in the former case, isused. and this blank is first drawn into a cup, as shown in F 11, thiscup duced.

eration the flange 30 is trimmed and the opening 36 for the indeicingfixture is pro- By the succeeding operation. the openings for therollers are formed as illustrated in Fig. 14, these openings beingsubstantially the same as indicated in Fig. 5. In the next operation thewings 33 are turned inwardly but, in this method, the wings are notfashioned to theshape of the body of the roller,the diilerence beingapparent by a comparison of Fig. 16 with Fig. 7. The next operationcompletes the cage, prior to assembly. by punching out the bottom wallto turn: the flange 31.

In this method the rollers are assembled in the pockets. from theoutside, as shown in Fig. 18. the straight Wings, as indicated in Fig.1G, permitting the flanged ends of the rollers to swing inwardly morethan they can in Fig. 9. The cup 25 is then moved axially into position,engaging the larger ends of the tapered bodies of the rollers, andswinging the flanged ends of the rollers outwardly to their ultimateposition. By suitable dies the wings 33 are then bent around the bodiesof the rollers and thus made to conform thereto, sufficient-clearancebeing, of course, allowed to permit the roller to turn freely. Thiscompletes the assembly of this unit of the bearing and the hearing willbe complete and ready for operation when thecone 26 is inserted.

It will be noted that the above-described methods start with the sameblank and pro duce the same final result, and it Will be evident tothose skilled in the art, that various changes may be made in thedetails of con struction and, the operations in producing the cage.Without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined inthe appended claims.

Havingthus What I claim is:

1. In a tapered roller bearing, the cornbination of the outer racemember, a serles of rollers permanently assembled therewith and eachhaving a flange on the smaller end of its body, said roller flangesengaging one of the side faces of said race member. and a cage for saidrollers comprising end flanges, roller spacing bridging membersconnecting said flanges and interlorly arranged wings on the oppositeedges of said bridging members. i

2. In a tapered roller bearing, the combination of the outer racemember, a series of rollers permanently assembled therewith and eachhaving a flange on the smaller end of its body. said roller flangesengaging one of the side facesot' said race member, and a cage for saidrollers comprising end surrounding the smaller ends of the rollerbodies. 1

3. A one-piece cage for tapered rollers consisting of end flanges androller-spacing bridging members connecting said flanges and s0 shaped asto form roller openings reversely tapered with respect to the rollers tobe received therein, and interiorly arranged wings on the opposite edgesof said bridging inembers.

4. A one-piece cage for tapered rollers consisting of end flanges androller-spacing bridging members connecting with the inner edge of one ofsaid flanges and with the outer edge of the other flange, said bridgingmembers being so shaped as to form roller openings reversely taperedwith respect to the rollers to be received therein and having wingsalong their opposite edges projecting into the interior of the a 5. Thehereindescribed permanently assembling a series of tapered rollers,having flanges on their smaller ends, with the outer race member of aroller hearing and a cage that is provided with end flanges androller-spacing bridging members connecting said flanges forming rollerspaces therebetween, said members having wings along their oppositeedges projecting inwardly, which consists in first inserting the rollersin the roller spaces on the outside of the cage with the larger end ofthe body of the rollers in narrower end of said spaces, swingingtheflanged ends of the rollers through said spaces to a position inwardlyof their final position, positionin the outer race member, moving theflanged ends of the rollers outwardly into contact 'with the rollingsurface of the outer race member and with the roller flanges engaging aside face of said member, and then closing said vings around the rollersto retain them in position,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LYMAN W. CLOSE.

